title: The impact of National Health Insurance on the volume and severity of emergency department use.
abstract: National Health Insurance (NHI) was introduced in Taiwan on March 1, 1995. To evaluate the Influence of NHI on the volume and severity of emergency department (ED) visits, a retrospective analysis was conducted. The results showed that NHI did not result in a substantial increase in ED volume (P > .05), but the severity as measured by triage nurses did increase (P < .01). There was no change in the number of admissions to the intensive care units of patients transferred from smaller hospitals, but its percentage significantly decreased (P < .05), which may be a result of the significant increase in the total number of interhospital transfers. It was hypothesized that the universal coverage and a copayment contributed to these changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y Z
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Tseng
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009313:National Health Programs; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013624:Taiwan; D019472:Universal Health Insurance